Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Leeanne G-Bowley, Director of Public Programs and Partnerships from Elmhurst, Queens
6:12:33
·
157 sec
Leeanne G-Bowley, a homeowner and community board member from Elmhurst, Queens, testified in support of Intros 431 and 408 regarding street vending. She emphasized the positive impact of street vendors on community safety and economic security, while criticizing current enforcement practices and the lack of available permits.
- Highlighted discrepancies between DSNY's testimony and her personal observations of NYPD enforcement against vendors
- Expressed concern about the weaponization of permit scarcity against the community and potential collaboration with federal immigration enforcement
- Argued that passing the intros would address fear-mongering and protect local small businesses from police engagement
- Shared an anecdote about local youth recognizing the importance of supporting street vendors through a theater production
Leeanne G-Bowley
6:12:33
Good afternoon.
6:12:34
Oops.
6:12:34
Let's see.
6:12:35
Good afternoon.
6:12:36
My name is Leanne Gibauley.
6:12:38
I'm a homeowner in Elmhurst, Queens, a voter, educator, and director of public programs and partnerships at a corona cultural institution.
6:12:45
I've served multiple terms on the Queen's Community Board four including on the executive and zoning committees, and I thank you for your time as I testify to support intros four thirty one and four zero eight.
6:12:58
I walk daily to the institution where I work from Elmhurst to Corona, and it reveals the power of our community and the role street vendors play in our lives.
6:13:07
Families gather for meals before school.
6:13:09
Our street feels safer at night when I walk home because the vendors are there and their customers light up our neighborhood.
6:13:17
Our community yet our city disincentivizes these small businesses that bring economic security and public safety to our streets.
6:13:24
The lack of available permits is weaponized against my community, and I'm going to actually go for my testimony to respond to the DSNY testimony earlier.
6:13:33
For example, on 10/21/2024, I was walking home from Roosevelt Avenue and saw a large NYPD truck with a number of street vendor products and carts on it.
6:13:43
I asked why the DSNY wasn't doing enforcement, and NYPD told me they're gone for the day, so we have to do it.
6:13:51
That is not what was testified to earlier today, and it quite frankly disturbs me.
6:13:56
When I speak to the leadership at my local precinct, they said, I know I think you think it's cute to get authentic food on the street, but they're breaking the law.
6:14:04
Let's talk about breaking the law.
6:14:06
We see our mayor who threatens compliance with the legal tactics of mass deportation in collaboration with the federal government, a federal government that continues to break the law and defy court mandates.
6:14:17
Passing these intros directly addresses this fear mongering and potential illegal actions from our government by getting rid of an arbitrary cap that puts local small businesses at risk of police engagement.
6:14:28
Now you can take that weapon out of the hands of those who want to harm these entrepreneurs, these small business owners, and my neighbors in Elmhurst and Corona.
6:14:37
Another invitation that the city council should pass Intros four thirty one and four zero eight, I'll wrap up, is our local youth know that it's the right thing to do.
6:14:45
Last year, I co produced a local production where students showed their immigration stories through a play.
6:14:51
Central to that play was the character's struggle to support her family.
6:14:58
a street vendor project, the students enacted seeking a permit, combating fraud due to lack of appropriate government regulations and support
Julie Menin
6:14:54
Okay.
6:14:54
Just going to ask you to wrap up because we have to give everyone the exact same amount of As
6:15:06
of your Okay.
6:15:07
Please submit your written testimony.
6:15:08
I will.
6:15:09
That.